Security Capital Assurance Ltd. (SCA) has appointed Fred Corrado and Paul Hellmers to its board of directors.

Following these two appointments, SCA's board will have nine members.

"We are pleased to welcome Fred and Paul as new members of the board," said SCA's chairman, Michael Esposito. "Their collective expertise in finance and risk management will be a strong addition to the company's board and we look forward to the counsel and experience that they will bring to SCA."

Mr. Corrado is being nominated as a Class 2 director to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Brian O'Hara from the company's board on November 26, 2007. Mr. Hellmers is being nominated as a Class 1 director to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Alan Senter from the company's board on December 27, 2007.

Mr. Corrado has more than 40 years experience in finance, general management and corporate governance. Mr. Hellmers has more than 25 years of diverse investment banking, real estate, insurance and general management experience.

Mr. Corrado currently serves as director and audit committee chair of Novell, Inc. He also is a member of the Approva Corporation advisory board of directors; a director of the New Jersey Performing Arts Centre; and is a business strategy, acquisitions and integration consultant.

Mr. Hellmers served as president and CEO of Centre Solutions (Bermuda) Ltd. from 1998 to 2002. Since 2004, he has served as the co-chairman of the board of directors and executive director of Phoenix Four, Inc. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at Los Angeles with a BA and received his MBA from Stanford University.

Talbot has appointed David Turner to be its first dedicated construction underwriter, reporting to Steve Lloyd, Talbot's head of property.

Mr. Turner's role will be complementary to Talbot's existing property team and it represents a new line of business for syndicate 1183 at Lloyd's.

The role will be global and will leverage not only cross-marketing opportunities with other lines of business written by the syndicate, but will also penetrate the local markets fed by Talbot's growing international distribution network.

He joins Talbot, which is owned by Bermuda-based Validus Re, with more than 30 years' service in the London insurance market specialising in the construction business. Most recently he was chief executive of Willis Construction Risks in London. Prior to that, he was construction underwriter for Hiscox syndicate 33.